Colombia’s Álvaro Uribe Faces Scrutiny In Washington Over Lawsuit Alleging Drummond Supported Parami

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Latin Dispatch

Colombia’s Álvaro Uribe Faces Scrutiny In Washington Over Lawsuit Alleging Drummond Supported Paramilitaries
Posted by Roque Planas on Dec 6th, 2010

http://latindispatch.com.nyud.net:8090/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Colombia-ex-president-alvaro-uribe.jpg

Ex-president of Colombia and visiting scholar at Georgetown University, Álvaro Uribe Vélez

WASHINGTON — On Nov. 3, as ex-president of Colombia Álvaro Uribe left a class he teaches at Georgetown University as a visiting scholar, a second-year law student named Charity Ryerson hid behind the corner of the Inter-Cultural Center, waiting for a student perched on a hill in front of her to signal that Uribe was about to pass.

Gliding through a hole in his security detail, Ryerson poked Uribe in the chest with a subpoena to appear for depositions in a civil suit accusing Drummond Company of supporting Colombian paramilitaries. “No! No! No!” Uribe said, throwing his hands in the air, according to Ryerson who dropped the document at his feet as process servers often do when someone won’t accept a summons.

Uribe’s appointment as a visiting scholar has touched off a controversy at Georgetown. Many observers credit the U.S.-backed leader’s military offense against the FARC—Latin America’s longest lasting guerrilla army—with restoring a measure of security to a country mired in civil war and drugtrafficking violence for over half a century.

“Having such a distinguished world leader at Georgetown will further the important work of students and faculty engaging important global issues,” according to Georgeown’s president, John DeGioia

Read more: http://latindispatch.com/2010/12/06/colombias-alvaro-uribe-faces-scrutiny-in-washington-over-lawsuit-alleging-drummond-supported-paramilitaries/

[Peace Patriot]

1. Read on! This article is very good, and full of important information, for instance...

"Uribe’s attorney, Gregory Craig — President Barack Obama’s former top White House lawyer — said in a telephone interview that the government of Colombia had invoked sovereign immunity for Uribe, a doctrine that allows government figures immunity from prosecution for tort claims for acts committed as part of their duties in office. Craig said he informed Collingsworth of the Colombian government’s decision, but did not contest the subpoena."

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Now there's something I didn't know. In addition to appointing Chiquita-Colombia's private attorney in their death squad case as Attorney General of the United States (Eric Holder), Obama had another shill for corporate death squad operations in Colombia at the White House!

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Collingsworth may have been the attorney for the relatives of the victims (trade unionists slaughtered by Chiquita's death squads) up against Eric Holder in the Chiquita case. Holder got Chiquita execs (who had admitted hiring squads) off with a handslep from the Bush Junta.

"In addition to his latest case against Drummond — Collingsworth has filed at least three — he has represented Colombian plaintiffs in cases against the Coca-Cola Company, Dole and Chiquita."

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There's more. This is a rich article!

"On Nov. 22 when Uribe was called to appear for depositions at Collingsworth’s office in Washington, he was visiting Honduras, where he received a congressional award for his contributions to democracy."

:rofl:

It would be funny, yeah, if there were not so many rotting corpses back in Colombia (not to mention in Honduras) stinking up his bloody trail and that of those giving him awards.

:grouphug:

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This case against Drummond (with the attorney serving Uribe for a deposition) is about Antioquia, where Uribe was operating early in his career. The Antioquia murders were the ones mentioned by a Jesuit priest (a well-known human rights advocate) in Colombia, who wrote to Georgetown U. (a Jesuit university) protesting Uribe's academic appointment there.

"The complaint accuses Uribe of having a role in supporting paramilitaries tied to the murder of Colombian unionists, though Uribe is not a defendant in the case. // 'When Colombian President Uribe was still the Governor of (the province of) Antioquia he implemented the plan to establish the government-registered front groups called ‘Convivirs’ to allow the AUC to collect government and private funds to support the military activities of the AUC,” the complaint alleges. “Further, the Convivirs provided legal status to the AUC and allowed the Colombian government to coordinate activities with it.'”

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Thanks for posting this, Judi Lynn! A lot of "dots" get connected in this one.